Dr. Demetrios Matsakis, Chief Scientist For Time Services At The U.S. Naval Observatory, To Lecture At The Horological Society Of New York

Philosophers have speculated on the nature of time for millennia. Einstein brought the question to a new level, but today many scientists and philosophers think they have an even deeper understanding. Unfortunately, they don't always agree with each other. At the November meeting of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), Dr. Demetrios Matsakis will give an equation-free review of some of these theories, and let you decide what to believe for yourself.

Philosophers have speculated on the nature of time for millennia. Einstein brought the question to a new level, but today many scientists and philosophers think they have an even deeper understanding. Unfortunately, they don't always agree with each other. At the November meeting of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), Dr. Demetrios Matsakis will give an equation-free review of some of these theories, and let you decide what to believe for yourself.

About Dr. Demetrios Matsakis

Dr. Demetrios Matsakis is a physicist who went to MIT and U.C. Berkeley, where he studied under the Nobel Prize–winning professor who invented the laser, and constructed two special-purpose lasers to study the molecular clouds where stars are born. After graduating, he used radio astronomy to measure the wobbles in the Earth’s rotation by looking at quasars near the edge of the observable universe. Later he became interested in timekeeping with atomic clocks and rapidly spinning neutron stars (pulsars).

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He went on to manage the Time Service Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory, which uses over 100 atomic clocks to set the time for GPS and much of the world. Under his management, a set of four atomic fountains were designed and built, measuring time to 16 decimal places. Yes, 16. This is currently the most precise 24x7 measurement system ever built by mankind – to measure anything, not just time. He is a past president of the International Astronomical Union's Time Commission, has served on many international commissions related to the timekeeping art, represented the U.S. in Geneva, and published over 100 papers (along with one short story that is, admittedly, pure science fiction).

Dr. Demetrios Matsakis

All HSNY lectures are free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:00 PM; lecture begins promptly at 7:00 PM. For more information, visit HSNY's website.

Previously, if you wanted to see HSNY's lectures, you had to do it in-person in New York at one of the monthly meetings. But now HSNY is recording all lectures and making them available to members in an archive online. If interested, you can become a member here, and the first recorded lecture was last month's talk by Francois-Paul Journe and others (including our own Jack Forster).